Brothers and Sisters
by HollyPup
Summary: Brittany Coleman is the newest foster kid at the Mercer house. How will she cope with living with the Mercer brothers after everything she has been through? Prequel to my story Four Brothers and a Sister. Please R&R! I need feedback!


Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own any of the characters, except for Brittany, nor do I take credit for any of them.

Note: Ok, for those of you who have been reading my story, Four Brothers and A Sister, this is the prequel to that story. This is the story of how Brittany grew up with the Mercers. I plan on having this play out all the way to when she and Jack leave the house at eighteen or nineteen. This first chapter was written within just a couple of days. I really need some feedback on whether it's good or not. Depending on reviews this story may be update regularly, or I may wait until my other story is nearer to completion. Well, I hope you guys enjoy this!

* * *

**Chapter One: Month of May**

At any given time in the United States, there are half a million or so kids of varying ages placed in foster care. Half of them leave foster care by the end of the year, whether it's because they're reunited with their parents, adopted, placed with a relative, or simply age out of the system. For those who are left, their chances of being adopted drastically decrease the longer they remain in foster care. The older they are, the less likely they will be chosen for adoption. Sometimes, age has nothing to do with it. Sometimes people just don't want kids who have been so tainted by troubled pasts, that they are almost intolerable to be around and often impossible to control. These kids are often bounced around from foster home to foster home until they turn eighteen and are turned out of the system for good. However, there are some rare cases where these juvenile delinquents find themselves in the care of a foster parent who sees past their behavioral problems, and decides they deserve a second chance.

Brittany Coleman sat in the sleek black car, staring dejectedly out the backseat window. The nice social worker lady had offered the front seat to her, but Brittany had refused. She preferred the backseat, because it was as far away from the world as she could get at the moment. If she had sat up front she would have been forced to talk to the lady, whose name she had purposely missed when they had been introduced. Brittany had just stopped caring who the people who picked her up and dropped her off were anymore. As long as they got her where she needed to go, then that was all that mattered. She couldn't give a shit, one way or another, what the lady's favorite kind of music was, or what she did on her days off. All she wanted to do was get out of this car. It was May, and the sun was out. She should probably wait until nightfall, but if this new foster parent was as old as the file said, then Brittany could probably sneak out of the house in broad daylight.

Fifteen years of age and with a strong hatred for the world, Brittany had been abandoned as an infant. She had been quickly and painlessly adopted. Infants always won over older kids. Unfortunately, she was one of the small percentage of unlucky kids who are adopted by a family who were not as nice and as sweet as they had made themselves look to the agency. She had been forced to work on her adopted parents' ranch at a very young age, and was severely punished when she didn't do her chores, or just didn't do them properly. Mostly the punishment was just your average beatings, but sometimes she would be locked in the barn overnight. These punishments only occurred in the fall, when her guardians knew that it was cold, but that she would survive. Needless to say, the abuse caused her to be an unruly child, and an even worse teenager. When she attacked her adopted father with a rather large kitchen knife, they finally gave Brittany back to the system, and so began her sporadic journey through foster homes.

Today marked the...tenth home Brittany had been sent to, but she had stopped caring about the numbers. In fact, she didn't really care much about anything except surviving until she was eighteen. Once she reached that glorious age she would be free of the system, of the social workers, of the stupid foster parents who tried so hard to make her an "acceptable member of society". She could do what she wanted. She was already planning on making a large bonfire on the beach somewhere. She would spend the night just throwing things in, watching them burn, poking the flames with a stick. It would be great, and it would be her life. No more taking orders from people who could never guess how much she had suffered as a child.

"Ok, Brittany," the lady in the driver's seat said in a sweet, sing-song voice, "We're here. Now, I expect you to be on your best behavior. Miss Evelyn has been very kind to take you in on such short notice." Brittany rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered as she grabbed her backpack and opened the back door of the car. She stepped out onto the sidewalk and stared uninterestedly at the two-story, brick house before her. It looked just like every other house she had ever lived out. Ordinary and one she would be leaving very quickly. She followed the social worker lady up the walk way to the enclosed porch. The lady rapped lightly on the front door, and the two stood there waiting for an answer. Brittany could hear some loud shouts and grunting from the other side. The lady was about to knock on the door again when it opened. A boy about Brittany's age stood in the doorway, peering at the two visitors blankly.

"You must be Jack," the lady said in that same sweet voice that made Brittany's skin crawl. Jack nodded. "Well, I'm here to drop Brittany off. Is Evelyn around?" Jack opened his mouth to answer them, but another booming voice cut him off.

"Is that the new basket case, Jackie-poo?" Bobby called from his spot on the floor where he and Angel both had the other in a headlock. Brittany scowled and poked her head further into the house to get a better look. Jack was looking rather confused. He just stepped back to let Brittany and the other lady into the house. Brittany stomped in, glaring heavily at the stocky man who was still rolling about on the ground with his brother.

"Who are you calling a basket case?" she demanded. She really didn't care what the guy thought, but she hadn't been in a really good argument for a long time. The kids at the last group home were all too young for her to argue with, and despite her demeanor, Brittany had her limits. She didn't pick on little kids, and she thought of people who did as lowly creatures that didn't deserve to be alive. Bobby detangled himself from his brother and stood up. His dark hair, having been sleeked back early, was slightly ruffled. His face, which seemed to be constantly scowling, gazed at Brittany blankly.

"Well, I wasn't referring to Jackie over there," Bobby said smoothly, "He's a fairy, not a basket case. You on the other hand..." He shrugged and smirked. Brittany could have pounced on him right then, but she was stopped.

"Bobby, that's enough," spoke a gentle, yet authoritative voice from the stairwell. Brittany tore her eyes away from Bobby's shit-faced grin, and looked up at the stairwell. Her backpack slid off of her arm and onto the floor with a thud as she stared at the staircase, absolutely struck dumb. Surely she was looking at an angel, but that was silly. She shook her head slightly. The woman had to be in her late fifties. But still, Brittany thought as she watched Evelyn Mercer step off the last stair, there was something divine about that woman. She couldn't but her finger on it. Oh well, it's probably not important. At any rate she had gotten Bobby to shut up.

"You must be Brittany," Evelyn said sweetly, holding out an aged hand, "Welcome to the house. I'm sure you'll be very comfortable here." Brittany shook her hand hesitantly, having had some rather disturbing experiences involving old people and shaking hands. However, she found the woman's hand to be very soft and warm. Evelyn smiled at her, and without thinking about it Brittany smiled back. The social worker lady seemed pleased.

"Alright, well I see that thing's are all well here, so I'll just go," she said with an obviously forced smile, and then turned around and walked back out the door that Jack was still holding open, "Evelyn I'll call you in a couple of days to see how things are going." Evelyn smiled and waved a hand at the lady as she walked back to the car. Jack closed the door behind her.

"Dreadful woman," Evelyn said, still smiling, "That smile is just absolutely frightening." All of the boys began laughing heartily. Brittany looked surprised for a moment, and then let out a few chuckles of her own. She didn't outright laugh. Baby steps, now. Can't turn a new lease on life all at once. Not that she was planning on doing so, but if she did...

"Ok, I think we are in need of introductions," said Evelyn, wrapping an arm about Brittany's shoulders. Brittany didn't protest. "Now the one that opened the door for you was Jack. He's the youngest. You two are actually only a couple of weeks separated as far as age goes." Jack raised a tentative hand, staring down at his feet. "You've already met Bobby. He's the oldest, and is only going to be staying for a couple more weeks." Bobby, the stocky guy who called her a basket case earlier, smirked in Brittany's direction, and then went to go flop down the on the couch. "The one he was fighting with is Angel. He's the pretty boy of the family. Aren't you, Angel?" The well built black man grinned widely.

"Yeah, Mom," he said with a laugh. Evelyn smiled at her second youngest, and then continued.

"Jeremiah isn't here right now, but he'll be by later tonight I suppose. He's living with his girlfriend, Camille, and their baby girl, Daniela. They'll all be happy to meet you." She removed her arm from around Brittany, who almost felt saddened as that warm feeling went away with it. "Now, about sleeping arrangements. Originally you were going to be staying in the spare bedroom next to Jack's room, but Bobby and Angel were rough housing in there and there's a rather large hole in the wall. Also the window needs repairing. I'm having somebody come by tomorrow to fix everything, but tonight you'll have to either sleep on the couch or you can room with one of the boys for the night." Brittany looked to her left at the three brothers in the living room. Angel busy chewing on one of his fingernails while he sat in a fat armchair. Bobby was watching a hockey game on TV, yelling at the screen a few times. Jack was still staring at his feet. Brittany looked back at Evelyn.

"I think I'll take the couch," she said with an expression that said 'I'd rather die than spend a night with one of these morons'.

"Alright, dear," Evelyn said with complete understanding, "Bobby get off the couch and let Brittany sit down, you're hogging the entire thing." Bobby flicked his hazel eyes to his mother.

"But, Ma," he began to say, as though he were a child instead of a twenty-three year old man.

"No but's. Now get up and help me with dinner. While you are staying with us you will abide by the rules, you know that. You should have known better than to insult our new addition." Muttering incoherently, Bobby got up, throwing a glare in Brittany's direction as he followed his mother into the kitchen. Brittany smirked after him and then walked over and sat on the couch. She looked over at Jack, who was continuing to stare at his feet as he leaned against a wall just outside of the living room. She peered quizzically at him.

"You going to sit down?" she asked him after a few seconds. Jack started slightly, looking up at her as though he hadn't known she was there. Slowly, very slowly, he shuffled over to the couch and sat down on the end opposite Brittany. She cocked an eyebrow at him. He had been acting this shy since she had arrived. What was wrong with him?

"Are you OK?" Brittany inquired, still staring at Jack curiously. Before the boy could try and answer her, which it didn't look like he was going to anyway, Angel spoke up.

"He don't like strangers," he told Brittany, "Except for those clerks down at the market on 104th street. Jackie here likes his men Middle Eastern." Jack immediately picked up a pillow and chucked it hard across the room at his brother. Angel laughed and threw up his arms to block the fluffy projectile.

"What?" he asked his little brother, "Only Bobby can call you gay?"

"Fuck you," Jack muttered, crossing his arms moodily. Brittany watched all of this with mild interest, and when they were finished she let her eyes rest on the youngest Mercer. After a moment he turned to look at her.

"I'm not gay," he told her matter-of-factly, assuming the look she was giving him was perplexed questioning. She shrugged carelessly in response.

"I didn't think you were," she said simply, turning her eyes to the television screen, which was still tuned to the hockey game. Hockey was a game Brittany liked, and one she followed almost religiously. Little did she know that that already put her on a common ground with the hothead that was Bobby Mercer. Jack stared at her, obviously slightly surprised by her statement, and then began watching the game as well.

Later that night, after dinner and the collective viewing of the television that lasted for about an hour, the autumn colored home lay silent. There was not a sound to be heard except for the light snoring coming from the lump on the couch. Brittany had watched first Evelyn and then the three Mercer boys trudge up the stairs to their respected rooms. Soon afterwards, she had squirmed around on the couch, getting comfortable, and quickly fell into a peaceful sleep, something she had not experienced in a long while. She had pondered while watching the hockey game about what it was that made this transition so easy. She was only being fostered, but she felt genuinely wanted here. She and the family had not interacted much tonight, but she easily foresaw that this would change tomorrow. Bobby would probably be her only obstacle. The guy was stubborn and verbally ruthless, a lot like herself, but she would never make that connection. She was nothing like Bobby.

The tail-swinging cat clock meowed three o'clock in the morning. The sound stirred Brittany in her sleep, but she only halfway woke up, and quickly turned to her side, ready to fall back into dreamland. Someone had other plans for her, however. There was a sudden thud, and a cry of pain. Brittany's brown eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright, practically ready to attack whatever had made the sound. Her gaze fell on the shadowy silhouette of Jack, hopping around on one foot while massaging the other with his hand. Forgetting that she had just been woken up from a nice sleep, Brittany quickly relaxed and stared at his dark outline.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked him. It was pretty early in the morning. Jack looked up at her, still hopping up and down.

"Ouch, geez," he said through gritted teeth, "What do you have in that backpack? Bricks?"

"Maybe, now what are you doing down here?"

"I live here," he retorted, his voice still a hiss of pain.

"Yes, hence the word 'down'." Jack finally sat down on the end of the couch, causing Brittany to remove her toes from under him.

"Oh, well," he began awkwardly, "I was just, uh, getting up to...I don't sleep well." In the darkness she saw him nod emphatically. Brittany yawned and stretched. Well, they were both up anyway. She reached behind her and pulled the chain on the lamp that adorned the side table next to the couch. The light flicked on and both teenagers were momentarily blinded, holding up their arms to shield their eyes. When they adjusted, Brittany lowered her arm and was glad to see Jack clearly now. He had done the same.

"Jack, why don't you like strangers?" she asked him, rather out of the blue you could say. She was a straightforward person, no beating around the bush with her, another trait that categorized her with Bobby. The list just keeps going. Jack looked at her, again surprised at what she had said. He seemed on the verge of dashing back up the stairs, but Brittany was glad to see him hold his ground, and after several long minutes he took a deep breath.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug, "I guess I just don't trust people so well. When I got here I didn't know what to expect. I thought maybe it would be like the other foster homes I'd been to, but instead I found a house full of people that...love me." He looked over at Brittany and smiled softly. It was the first time she had seen him smile. He looked much better when he smiled. She smiled back.

"I guess I don't trust people so well either," Brittany said quietly, letting her gaze fall down to where she was wiggling her toes beneath the blanket, "But, I don't know, I just don't feel uncomfortable here. I feel like I could trust any of you guys with my life. Well, except maybe Bobby." She frowned as the image of Bobby's smirking face swam to the forefront of her mind. She looked back up at Jack, and was entirely pleased to see him practically beaming.

"Bobby's harmless," he told her sincerely.

"Does he know that?" Jack chuckled a bit, and Brittany let a smile reappear on her lips. He shrugged and continued.

"Well, he acts tough because he is tough, but he'd do anything for this family, and that now includes you. Take it from me, you'll get used to him eventually." He tried to smile reassuringly, but he didn't pull it off entirely well. He got up, and bade her goodnight for the second time. With a lazy yawn, he stepped quietly back up the staircase and to his room. Brittany watched him go, and then reached behind her again and turned the light back off. She sat for a moment in the dark, staring off into the shadows, thinking about what Jack had said. She would have liked to believe it, but she doubted she would ever get used to Bobby Mercer. With a sigh, she snuggled back into the soft cushions of the couch, and fell back to sleep. The next few weeks were going to be interesting.  



End file.
